Information
This page contains a background to the cause and will be updated as the fight develops.
What is all the fuss about?
What exactly is happening to the Green Belt in Siston Parish, how many houses are being built, what will they look like and where will they be?
The Green Belt in Siston will be built over with high-density town houses.
There are plans to build 8,000 houses in this area unless we stop them.
Consequences.
We will lose our community and become another urban extension to Bristol, we will lose our wildlife, our walking areas, our community, we will gain traffic, roads, pollution, litter and concrete.
The building of 8,000 new homes (approximately the size of Bradley Stoke) would result in gridlock on all of our roads leading to poor air quality as a result of stationary traffic. Our unique and much-valued rural area would be replaced with high-density housing. We do not want to see the communities of Oldland Common, Bridgeyate, Webbs Heath, Goose Green and Shortwood engulfed within an urban extension.
What Can We Do?
A campaign group has been set up in response to proposals set out in the Sout West Regional Spatial Strategy (RSS) to build and urban extension of 8,000 new homes on Green belt land East of Kingswood. A huge area of our green belt is under threat, from Oldland Common to Shortwood
The new minister for communities is called John Denham. We need as many people as possible to write to him laying out reasons why concreting over green land is not a good idea and explaining that there are eight hundred and thirty thousand vacant homes in the UK. along with safe brown sites to build houses on. There is no need to build on the Green Belt.
Online consultation document for the Regional Spatial Strategy
(for an online guide to filling this in please click on this link)
How Much Growth for Bristol (Friends of the Earth)
Terence O'Rourke's report for Property Developer JS Bloor
We started one year ago and in that time have grown to become the leading movement against building on the greenbelt. The South West managed to send in 32000 letters of opposition against the housing plans of the RSS and have made our selves a force to be reckoned with.
In that time we have set up a web site, held regular information sessions at the community centre to inform our community of what is happening. We have taken to Downing Street a petition with 1000.00 signatures on it. We have attended a committee debate with all MPs in the House of Commons, We have had Roger Berry, Chris Skidmore and the the shadow Housing minister talking to the community, we have done our own consultation with people of Warmley, Oldland, Pucklechurch etc and presented that consultation at the Civic Centre to over 400 people.
At the present time the RSS has been delayed but councils have been told to go ahead as if the RSS is legal.
The emergency now is to stop in its tracks all plans to build on green belt that the developers put in. It is crucial we do not lose momentum now as all will be lost.
Land rear of Park Farm, Barry Road, Oldland Common
URGENT
As you may already be aware, the above planning application has been submitted to South Gloucestershire Council by Strategic Land Partnerships for a mixed use development across 17.93 hectares of land, comprising 450 dwellings (157 of these affordable), care home, local centre (retail & light industrial to include mid-sized convenience store) and associated infrastructure. There are two proposed access roads off Barry Road. You may have already sent in a letter of objection to South Glos. Council or made your comment on-line (www.southglos.gov.uk/planning) where you can also view the application in full.
IF YOU HAVE NOT ALREADY DONE SO, OBJECTIONS NEED TO BE IN BY 29TH SEPT 09.
THIS WILL EFFECT EVERYONE ESPECIALLY IN TERMS OF TRAFFIC, THEREFORE A MEETING HAS BEEN ARRANGED FOR MONDAY 14TH SEPT @ 7.30PM AT ST. ANNES CHURCH HALL (CORNER SCHOOL RD/BARRY RD) TO DISCUSS RECENT EVENTS AND PLAN OUR COURSE OF ACTION.
IT IS VITAL THAT AS MANY RESIDENTS AS POSSIBLE COME ALONG………OLDLAND COMMON HAS NEVER NEEDED YOUR SUPPORT AS MUCH………